We have five of the most amazing persimmon trees here at Tullamore Farm.
We first experienced persimmon on a holiday to New Zealand about 20 years ago and have loved them ever since. We have enjoyed introducing many others to the delight of this fruit when they visit for our farm tours and workshops. Another bumper crop this year and we are just about finished picking (and eating) them.
You rarely see persimmons at the supermarkets but these orange fruits are continuing to gain popularity. They are a deciduous fruit, which means they lose most of their leaves in winter. With mild winters and warm summers, our region provides the ideal environment. They require a period of chilling for fruit production and our winter temperatures meet this need. Good news – they will tolerate some frost.
Persimmons thrive well in good draining, rich soils. They are quite drought tolerant once established but need watering during the establishment stage and during fruit development. We fertilise ours yearly using our home made compost. Before they were very established they would be fertilised twice yearly. If your soil is a bit poor you can improve your outcome by adding some extra potassium.
Regular pruning is one of the keys to successful harvesting. We prune ours every year in June when they are dormant with little or no leaves. We prune aiming to have one central trunk and a reasonable number of side branches. Remove the lower side branches as the weight of the fruit will drag branches down and it is best to avoid having the fruit on or close to the ground.
There are two types of persimmons grown in Australia – astringent and non-astringent. Fuyu and Jiro are two of the most common non-astringent varieties grown locally and are crunchy and sweet. When you consider their low maintenance once established and the reliable harvest, they are a must to add to your growing patch.
